Caution to the Wind
by katetreloar
Summary: Follow one girls journey as she struggles to cope with her new life. Other character, Cullens appear much later.
1. Dexy Monroe

Caution to the Wind

Follow one girl's journey as she struggles to cope with her new life as a mythical being. She encounters old friends and new enemies. Join her as she overcomes obstacles and dark secrets. Will her past catch up with her? Will she find true love along the way? And what happens when she finds out she's not a, "normal vampire"? Read and find out...

"I'm so sorry"

The honey-like voice whispered in my ear. I turned my head, curious as to what this man had to be sorry about. My curiosity only lasted a second. I felt his head bend down towards my neck, lifting me slightly like he was embracing a lover. Then, his teeth sunk into my neck as if I was his last meal on God's green Earth. That's when the pain started.

I felt myself being transported. Where, I did not know. By whom, well I had no knowledge of that either. And how, to be honest it felt like I was flying.

As I was set down, I felt his teeth remove from my neck. The burning sensation did not cease for two days and two long, agonizing nights. The entire time I tried desperately to stop the unbearable pain. The first night was the worst. I screamed constantly, not caring if anyone heard.

I had also attempted to scratch my pain away, but my torturer quickly ceased my efforts. So I lay there, on what assumingly was a forest floor, twitching and fidgeting for hours. Every half hour or so, my "creator" as he called it, would speak of things belonging to fairy tales and horror movies.

I realize now I should have paid attention to this man, but at the time all I could focus on was the pain. I had tried many times to look at his face, to try and see who this mystery being was. But every time I opened my eyes, the burning pain circulating my body increased ten fold.

After my seventh attempt, I gave up on that idea. "Farewell, my dear. Someday, we shall cross paths again." Those were his last words as he slipped away, into the night.

I waited until I no longer heard his footsteps; for fear that he may return and inflict more agonizing torture. His footfalls long gone, I cracked open my eyes a centimetre, fearing that the burning would return.

My eyes were hit by a clarity I had never felt before. Everything hit me at once, so brightly that I almost had to shut my eyes again. I shot up from my current position, so that I was now standing against a giant eucalyptus tree.

As I took everything in, I noticed my senses had dramatically increased. I heard small ants to my right, scurrying frantically, trying to find food for their queen.

That's when I smelt it, and heard it also. The pounding of veins, the thumping of hooves and the beating of a soon to be stilled heart; made the dry ache in my throat burn fiercely. I followed my senses, leading me straight to a herd of camels. Then my instincts took control.

I gorged myself on their blood, soon enough draining the entire herd. Mentally exhausted and my body filled with sweet nectar, I sat beside a creek bed; gazing out at the calming waters.

I leant over the edge, morbidly curious to see if the burning period had torched me to a crisp. What I saw in my reflection was quite the opposite. I was gorgeous- stunning even. My once untameable hair had turned into a beautiful chestnut brown, with splashes of red and blonde mixed in as well.

My previously freckle ridden face, now a pale, porcelain carving of an angel; stared in awe of this new found splendor. But what stood out the most were the startling red eyes, they grabbed my attention and stubbornly refused to let go.

As I mused these new found facts over in my head, one idea simply refused to stay silent- vampire. It all made sense then; the craving for fresh blood, the staggering beauty and the painful transformation.

I knew quite a bit about vampires- though each book I read and movie I watched had slight variations on the myth, I had enough knowledge on the subject to put two and two together.

"Wow", I spoke out loud, to no one in particular. I, Dexy Monroe, was a vampire.

**(A/N) Title may change, if you have any ideas for the title, feel free to let me know : )**


	2. Shopping

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, and will most likely be owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

"Whoa, I need to change", I thought as I stared down at my now ragged and bloodied clothing- those camels can be brutal. I remembered their frightened eyes, looking straight through me as they planned their escape. If I was human, I would have been dead in seconds.

Considering my options, I decided that my best bet for getting clothes was to sneak into a clothing store and steal something. And judging by the position of the moon, I didn't have long to do it. I didn't know what would happen to me in the sun, hopefully I wouldn't be burned to a crisp, but I wasn't quite ready to find that out just yet.

Standing up, I straightened my clothes as much as I could, and took off running. I had never liked running as a human- too much exercise involved. But running as a vampire, felt amazing. It was exhilarating, and for once in my life, I felt free.

"Henry, I think we should turn back now" I heard a slightly afraid voice say. I stopped dead in my tracks, no pun intended. "It'll be fine babe, just a few more minutes", I heard the male's voice answer. He came across as brave, but I heard his heartbeat jump considerably. I changed the direction I was heading, turning on a forty five degree angle and sprinting towards the humans.

Before the frightened teenage girl had time to respond to the boys answer, I pounced. The warm blood gushing down my throat was an experience like no other. This girl's blood tasted even better than the camels I had fed on, only hour's earlier.

After draining her dry, I dropped her lifeless body to the leaves of the cold, forest floor. Her body, now empty of precious, life giving blood, slightly shimmered in the paling moonlight. She had been quite pretty, almost beautiful. "Oh well", I thought, "she's dead now anyway.

The stray thought floored me. How could I think such a thing? "You're a changed person" The bloodthirsty creature inside my head said once more. "Well you're a monster now, you might as well get used to it" "No!" I though back. I would never become a slave to my desires. Surely there was a way to overcome this raging bloodlust.

As I was mulling these strange, slightly terrifying thoughts over, the teenage boy had fled. "Silly boy", I laughed to myself. "As if you could run away from me." I walked up to meet the boy, who, in the time I had been thinking, had only run fifteen metres; sixteen now.

My hand latched onto the terrified teenager's shoulder, caressing his neck with my hard, pale and ice cold fingers. "Pppplease don't hhhurt mmme", the boy stuttered. His heart rate skyrocketed as he said those words- and that was enough for the blood lust to take over.

I sunk my razor sharp teeth into his soft and tender neck, and drank as if my life depended on it, I couldn't bear to spill one drop of this mouth watering blood. I felt immense sadness for what I had just done, then tremendous anger for whoever had done this to me.

"My emotions are just getting the better of me" I thought, shaking my head as if to clear myself of all hidden feelings. His motionless corpse slid to the muddy dirt of the hikers trail and I set off towards the nearest clothing store. I reached the edge of the forest in record time, maybe I should try out for the Olympics? I mentally mused.

What would they think if they tried to take my blood though? I stopped running, pondering what to do next. I saw a vague outline of Myers to my right. Could I run there, inconspicuously, grab some clothes and be back to the forest by sunrise? I decided to take my chances, hoping that I wouldn't run into anymore juicy humans, tempting me with their delicious blood.

Keeping to the outline of the forest, I tried my best to make it there on time. Pushing my limits, I made it to the massive complex with time to spare. I crept up to the side of the building, carefully watching for any security guards who might see me. "One poor security guard would be no match for me" the monster inside my head scoffed.

Shut up, shut up shut up! I yelled at the creature, noiselessly pleading with it to be silent. I double checked that no one was around, and scaled the wall effortlessly, a feat nigh impossibly for a human. Especially without any safety gear, nothing between you and the cold hard ground except air. Without a second thought, I ripped a perfect circular hole in the roof, making a mental note to fix that up later.

I dropped in from the roof, landing silently on the floor below. Taking in my surroundings, I noticed that I was on the wrong floor- home wares and appliances. "These sorts of things aren't going to help you in the middle of the forest", I thought sarcastically. Grunting softly, I looked around for the escalator.

Using my new eyesight, I found the moving stairs as I used to call them, with ease in the pitch black darkness of the now closed store. Dashing to the escalator and running down as quickly as possible, I just about sprinted to the clothing department. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this speed" I thought as I almost ran face first into a rack of men's clothing.

Spotting the women's department, I walked over to it as slowly as I could, careful not to run into anything else. I felt enraged as I looked around. "How could they dare not stock anything I like?!" I thought with wrath. Ugh, stupid emotions.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a stunning looking black trench coat. Perfect. I grabbed two coats, which looked roughly my size and skipped over to the ladies tops. I had always loved shopping, so I guess the trait just stuck with me. I took five shirts from the same rack, each in a different colour.

Next, I strolled over to the pants. I pilfered three pairs of jeans, one black pair and two pairs in different shades of blue. I looked over at the shoes- they only had high heels. "Ugh, forget it!" My temper flared again, threatening to take down the entire shop in a rage. I forced myself to calm down. I would just have to make do.

I looked down at the black high top pair of Converse I was now wearing. They had always seemed sturdy enough; they would be fine for now. I always had a soft spot for Converse, nothing's changed I guess. I searched around for a bag to put my newly acquired belongs in; for I did not want them to become stained and dirty the first night I had them.

I'm sure the store wouldn't mind if I took just one bag... With the bag in hand, and my new clothes shoved into it- save for the trench coat, blue shirt and black jeans I was now wearing, I took one look in the store mirror and I set out on my way.

Climbing the store walls effortlessly, I nimbly scrambled through the hole I had made and sealed it expertly. No one would notice a difference, if they ever climbed up onto the roof that is. I made a mental note to anonymously donate some money to the store, just to cover their losses.

Not that Myers were a struggling company or anything, but it just didn't feel right not to. Following my own scent easily, I sprinted back to the forest I now called home.

**(A/N) Reviews are love : )**


	3. Dust

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, and will most likely be owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

Sitting against the giant eucalyptus tree I now called my own; I tried to remember something- _anything, _about my life before. My memories were hazy, like trying to watch a movie that was out of focus. I kept waiting for it to become clearer, but nothing happened. If anything, they became fuzzier. "Ugh", I thought, rubbing my temple to try and help relieve the pressure. Was it even possible for vampires to get headaches?

"Why can't I remember anything?!" I shouted to the sky in rage, slamming my fist against my favourite tree. My eyes widened in disbelief as I saw where the colossal eucalyptus tree _should_ have stood, a small pile of dust situated. "No way", I thought. Where did the tree go? Stumbling backwards, I shook my head, still disbelieving what was right in front of my eyes. "Come back", I sobbed. I had grown rather fond of that tree. Closing my eyes, I wished the enormous tree would just come back, as if nothing had happened. When I opened my eyes at last, I gasped out loud in shock.

There was my tree, standing in all its massive glory. For the second time in just thirty seconds, my eyes widened and I stumbled back in astonishment. "What the hell is happening here?!" I asked no one in particular. Ok, this was just getting frustrating. And now I'm talking to myself... great. Maybe I really was crazy. Maybe this was all just a figment of my imagination, and in real life I was in a padded cell somewhere, sporting a straight and muttering to myself about vampires.

I scoffed at the idea, but somewhere in the back of mind told me I had a pretty valid point.

"Wait a minute"... I thought, trying to remember something from my past. I remembered reading something, many years ago of course, about vampires having certain abilities; abilities beyond the norm."The norm?" I asked myself. "How can this be normal?" Well, if I wasn't normal, and if the dust thing was actually my doing, then I would be different from other vampires. A freak among freaks, now that's just fate being cruel.

"Or being exceptionally generous" The confined monster added. "Just think of the possibilities. You could rule the world with your kind of power" It smiled as it uttered the words."Shush!" I yelled at it, actually holding a finger to my mouth. It seemed that most of my annoying human habits had stayed with me. "You shall be quiet now" I added.

That brought me to another question. How many of my kind were there? Surely I couldn't be the only one in this town... Could I? The only vampire I had ever met, as far as I knew, didn't stay with me very long. Half of me hoped to meet him again, and the other half of me, the enraged, bitter side of me, wanted nothing more that to never see the cruel man's face again. Not that I ever saw his face to start with, but you get the idea.

I felt a small twitch in the back of my throat, and I knew immediately that I was thirsty again. Everything was forgotten then- the mysterious disappearing and reappearing of the giant eucalyptus tree, the caged monster inside my mind and even my unfulfilled need to rip someone's head off. You tend to lose yourself a bit when you get thirsty, especially when human blood is smelt.

Animal blood was nice, but human blood tasted positively divine.

Breaking out into a run, I followed my keen sense of smell to find, yet another, herd of camels. "Oh well", I thought, shrugging my shoulders. Blood is blood, and who am I to deny what I am? It's not like anyone could have perfect control, a mere few days after being created. That sort of stuff just wasn't normal. **(A/N, and yes, that was a slight dig at Bella) **

Cautiously sneaking up behind a rather juicy looking calf, I snapped his neck quickly, not wanting the poor creature to suffer, and gulped down hot, life giving blood, before the other camels even knew of my presence. When the young camel's lifeless body slumped to the forest floor, the entire herd looked in my direction in alarm. Pure terror spread through their eyes like wild fire. The realization dawning on them that I, in fact, was the wretched monster who stole their precious young one's life away. Crazed and wild with fright, the camels ran away, each running in a slightly different direction. Oh this was going to be fun.

Finally satiated once more, I looked up the sky, the gleaming sun a mere seconds from bursting over the horizon. Whipping my head around, so quickly that it would've given me whiplash, had of I been human. I looked around for the best shade. Spotting a small clump of trees to my right, I decided that it would be the best form of cover, and leapt over towards it, just in time to see the first rays of sunshine creep over the horizon. In all of exactly three seconds, the landscape was filled with a shining brilliance.

Creeping towards the light, I stuck one finger out in the sunshine, ready to snap it back in if needing be. And... Nothing, what an anti climax. I stuck my entire arm out this time, thinking that maybe I just needed more exposure; nothing again. Getting slightly frustrated, I jumped out of the safety of the trees, exposing my entire body to the unforgiving light. Still nothing.

Well that was exciting.

And on that bomb shell, I slowly made my way back to the mystifying tree. I sat down just in front of it, and focused on a small shrub to my left. Trying to channel the same energy I had used earlier. Anger, that was the key; well that wouldn't be to hard to conjure up.

Focusing all my power and anger on the small shrub, my hand shot out towards it, almost touching it, but it was just out of reach. I heard a slight shift, and that was it.

The green and healthy shrub was now nothing but a pile of dust. "Whoa, this is insane!" I said excitedly jumping in the air and clapping my hands. But how did I make it come back? Maybe I had to be... Calm? Well this part was going to be more of a challenge then the angry part- that was easy.

Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my posture and just focused on trying to get the shrub back. I heard another shift, like the last one, but it sounded more like a shiver this time. The shrub was back, shimmering slightly in the beautiful sunlight. "Awesome" I thought, turning around to see what else I could test this new power out on. I caught sight of a cluster of bushes to my right, and decided I would test my power on a larger scale.

Nothing like throwing someone in the deep end, and hoping they can swim.


	4. Eyes

**(A/N I would just like to say that autumnleavesxD you are awesome : )  
**

I sat there for months on end, only moving to feed and to change my blood stained and torn clothes. I didn't change often though, for I was trying to conserve my clothing supply as much as I could. I tried to avoid as many "shopping trips" as possible. I easily kept track of the numbers though, so there was no way I would ever forget how much I owed to the various department stores I stole from.

I practised and practised all day and all night- literally, until I honed my skill down to a fine art. With one flick of my wrist, the object of my choice would simply disappear; turning into a fine dust that I was now so familiar with. And with a certain signal from my fingers, the object would re appear, as if it had been there from the beginning.

"Maybe it's time to... Upgrade?" I thought, considering my options. The next time I fed, I tested my new found theory. Focusing on the dead animal's unmoving carcass, I found out that it was somewhat harder for me to "dustify" it. From then on, after every kill I would make the body vanish, leaving nothing behind but a tiny mound of dust.

When I made the dead animals reappear, it simply stayed dead, in the same form as it was when I made is vanish in the first place. My power had no affect on mortality. After taking yet another few months to master the dead animal trick, I moved on towards live animals.

It was quite comical, in a slightly sick and disturbed kind of way, to watch kangaroos simply vanish mid leap. Making live animals disappear was just as easy as making dead animals disappear. But making them re appear- well that was another story all together.

To bring back a live animal, I had to focus all of my energy on re booting its anatomy- a feat easier said than done. Re constructing animals' vital organs was time consuming to say the least. I could feel all of the muscles, veins and tendons stitching there selves back together, once the fragile animal was brought back to life.

I had never been very good at anatomy. I constantly argued that it was a pointless subject; I was never going to be a doctor. Even if I did become a doctor, human body stuff is what you go to medical school for, right? "Boy I wished I had paid more attention in class" I thought with regret.

Mastering the live animal skill had to be the hardest thing I had ever done in my life; scratch that, existence. I was pretty sure that vampires lived forever, but I was always very careful; not wanting to take my chances either way.

Before long, I felt myself creeping closer to the city; I longed for the sweet sensation of human blood again. Also, I wondered what I looked like, after all; I hadn't seen myself since the day I had woken up. Surely I couldn't be much different, if my theory on aging was in fact, correct.

Hearing one human heart beat its delicious rhythm was enough to make my mouth water. I hadn't fed on a human from the time when I met two hikers in the forest. And I was very eager, to say the least, to taste the glorious blood again.

Silently making my way towards the darkened city, all I focused on was the appetizing rhythm of one human's limited heartbeats. Ascending the first building with ease, I listened closely to the increasing "thump thump" sound; and I knew I was close.

Following my nose- literally, I quickly found the fragile little human, talking quickly into his mobile phone. "Ok Bill, I'll see you soon" the man said as he hung up his mobile. Shivering, the man hugged his suit jacket tighter to himself, hoping in vain that it would warm him up. Not that he needed warmth for long though... One spring of my legs was all it took for me to be on his back, and to have snapped his neck like a twig.

Turning away from the pile of dust I had just created, I ran towards the nearest clothing store; hoping that it had at least one mirror inside. Easily finding a local Just Jeans, I slipped quietly inside, considering on doing some more, "shopping". Feeling quite happy and refreshed, I searched for the biggest mirror I could find, I stepped in front of it, zoning in on my face; looking for any changes.

I centered in on my eyes, now a gleaming golden brown. In shock, I closed my eyes, but I quickly opened them again. Looking at my eyes again, they were now a bright red colour. "What the hell?" I yelled at the mirror. I stared at my clothes instead; they hung perfectly from my now beautiful figure. I suppose one of the good things about being a vampire, was that I was forever beautiful; as far as I knew anyway.

A sudden sadness filled me then, it came out of no where. I didn't even no what I was feeling sad about, but I went with it anyway. Still feeling sorry about myself, for no particular reason, I summoned up the courage to look at my eyes again. My eyes were now a vivid blue colour.

"Hmm..." A thought passed through my mind just then. When I was in shock, or when I was angry, my eyes turned red. But when I was happy, they were gold. And then, I was sad, and they suddenly changed to blue. Maybe... I turned towards the mirror again, this time letting a violent fit of jealousy pass through me. Now my eyes were green- perfect. "So my eyes change colour according to my mood... Awesome" I thought it was better than nothing at least.

"I wonder what would happen if... I felt love?" I let my thoughts be carried away with human memories of the only boy I had ever loved.

_Flashback._

_I was fourteen years old and it was my first day at a new school. I had moved that many times in my life that I was now used to first days at school; and I didn't even get nervous anymore. "Class, we have a new student" my latest teacher announced. "Her name is" he said, looking through my papers once more. "Dexy Monroe. Now make her feel welcome". Looking at my feet, I awkwardly made my way to my assigned table. "Hi" A cute looking boy with spiky black hair said, holding out his hand for me to shake. I shook it, saying hello back. He was my only desk neighbour, as my seat was in the far right corner in the back. _

_We became very close friends after that day, and eventually, I grew to love him. He never knew my true feelings, of course, for I didn't want to ruin our friendship; it was too precious. My father, being in the police force at the time, had volunteered to move again, but I threw such a fit, that he decided against it. He didn't want to risk my sanity._

_I never even bothered to make friends, figuring I wouldn't have the time to really commit. But this boy stood out, he was special- different than the others. His name was Indie Harrison, and he was my one and only true love._

_End of flashback._

I gasped, taking me out of the greatest memory I had. My eyes were now a bright pink colour, it only make sense I guess. I ran back to my forest, trying to dig as deep into my memories as possible.

**(A/N. Told ya she was different ; ) Or at least I think I did...?)**


	5. Memories

**(A/N Thank you too an anonymous reviewer by the name of anti-princess. And thanks to Amanda Rich, who added me to their alerts list. You guys are loved xD)  
**

I found a certain memory however, that I wish had stayed buried well hidden and locked away within the deepest pits of my blacked and twisted mind.

_Flashback_

_It was a cool summers evening, an event so rare for where I lived, and I was celebrating my year twelve graduation with my closest friends and family. I was sixteen at the time, fresh out of school; and so full of life and energy. The drinks were flowing, and mountains of food were being eaten; we were celebrating the traditional Aussie way- a barbeque in the backyard. Giant steaks and delicious sausages were all the eye could see. Salad and potato bake were there as a side dish. Jack Daniels and Jim Beam were the most popular choice of drink, but Johnny Walker came in a close second. Soft drinks were also supplied, for the little kids of course, which unfortunately included me. It was a celebration for graduating, slash small family get together. _

_"Oh no", exclaimed my stress head of a mother. "We're out of cool drink, for the littlies." An idea formed in my mind, and I replied. "I'll go, with expert driver supervision of course" I grinned at the prospect of driving, legally! My mum looked doubtful, her lips bunching up together at the side of her mouth. I knew that look, she was deep in thought. At first, she disapproved of me driving, but eventually, I won her over. "Ok, fine" she sighed. "Go ahead. The shop is just down the road." "Thank you mum!" I squealed, giving her a hug for brownie points. _

_"I'll be right back, I love you mum" "Suck up" she chuckled. "I love you too". Running out to the backyard, I asked if anyone wanted to come with me. And to my luck (or so I thought at the time), my two best friends offered to join me. The older one of the two, Carol Williams, had just gotten off her P plates, and was able to supervise my driving. And the youngest, Sophie Kelly, was just along for the ride- literally. _

_Quickly dashing into the shops, and grabbing the cool drinks, (and paying for them, of course), I drove rather quickly back home; eager to get back to the food. "I'll be right back" Carol said as she took the first set of drinks into the house. "Bang!" I heard, turning around towards the house. I was standing in the driveway, near the boot of the car. I turned my head, and looked in the direction of the house. I was just about to walk through the door, when Carol stepped back out; blocking my way inside. "Dddon't gggo in there." She looked liked she'd seen a ghost, or worse. _

_Her face had a strange green tinge to it, and I feared she was going to throw up, or faint. "What's wrong Carol?" I asked, distressed. Carol was never scared, and I had in no way seen her ill looking, ever. By then, Sophie had joined us too, taking Carol into her arms as she sobbed. I had to see what was wrong, what had happened to make her look this way! I had taken one step through the door, when Carol grabbed onto my arm, begging through tears not to go into the house. _

_"I have to see what's in there" I whispered, brushing my way past. I had always been a very curious child; I once touched the fire, just to see if it was hot. But, for once in my life, I wish I had been not curious- it might just have saved my sanity. However, stubborn as always, I scraped my way through the door, all the way through the house and out into the backyard. What I saw there was indescribable. _

_Blood._

_Death._

_Pain._

_The fragile bodies of my loved ones were strewn out across the bloody lawn, parents and children alike slaughtered as if they were nothing but animals. There were several bullet holes in each of their pale bodies. Turning away from the bloody scene, I made my way back through the house and out to the front porch. Where, Carol was visibly shaking in Sophie's arms. Sophie gasped as she looked at my face- the face of death itself no doubt. I felt, nothing. Like I was floating, I was having an out of body experience. How does one cope with such a devastating, life altering experience? Even in all my grief and out of body experiences, I still had enough sense to call the police._

"_Come quickly" I whispered as I fell to the hard concrete floor._

_End of flashback._

I gasped as I came back to reality, finally becoming aware of my surroundings. "No no no!" I screamed, tearing at my hair. "This can't be happening" I wheezed, starting to hyperventilate. Trying to slow my breathing, I remember the agonizing months of torture and self pity. Before my, uh, "death", I had just recently some to terms with my families' demise. I never really got over it, and I probably never will- it's not really something you can just forget over night.

It took me years to get to the stage where I could say their names without crying. It shaped and moulded me, made me who I am today. Whether or not it changed me for the better, well I don't think I'll ever know the answer to that one. I wear it; bear the burden if you will, even now today. I think I always will. Their passing taught me to cherish life; it's a very precious and delicate thing. And it also taught me to love everything, anything and everyone.

Something clicked in my brain then, I still had a house- possessions! I had to go back, sure it would bring up bad memories, but I had to. It would at least save me from stealing more clothes. Now, the question being, where was my house again? It had been close to one and a half years, not quite two, but very close to it, since I had seen my house and my memories of "before" had become hazy and foggy over time. It was like trying to watch a movie that was out of focus- trying to look at it just strained your eyes and not to mention gave you a headache.

I had stayed in the same city after my transformation- I couldn't bare the thought of leaving home. And where the man took me was not far from my house- I lived just on the outskirts of town. **(She's in Perth and as for which suburb... I'll leave that up to you) **Cautiously making my way through the daytime streets, I kept my head low and focused on the hard and curious surface that was the sidewalk. It was amazing the amount of detail in the pavement. You wouldn't be able to see it from human eyes, but the sidewalk had an amazing element that was quite hypnotising.

"Hmm..." I thought. "Should I turn down Murray street or Telstar Drive" **(These are real streets, but not all in the same place)** Shrugging my shoulders, I turned down Beasley Street instead. When you have forever to look for something, you tend to take your time and go down every path, not really minding where the road leads you. I searched for hours, trying to dig up something, _anything _to give me clues on my house.

Just as I was about to give up my long and fruitless wild goose chase, I spotted a rather familiar looking residence on the horizon. Rushing up to the estate, at a speed very fast for someone who appeared human, I knew right away that I had found my house. During the dark stage that was my grieving period, I pushed away all those near and dear to me, fearing that they were next in line for death. I was exiled, alienated and alone. All of my friends and extended family had tried to pull me back to the surface, but each time they did, I would kick, scream and thrash; taking them under with me. I had always liked my own company- I preferred it, actually. So I guess I was content with the way things turned out- as content as one can be of course.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching I crept passed the gate and up the front steps of my now abandoned humble abode.


	6. Susan Phillips

Chapter six- Susan Phillips

"You can do this" I said, giving myself a small pep talk. I had spent the last few hours exploring the house, careful to avoid my parents room- I wasn't ready for that yet. I smiled as memories of my loving parents came flooding back to me. Shaking my head to prevent the flashback and clear my head, I twisted the foreboding door knob and entered the forbidden room. Putting my foot through the door, a thick layer of dust shot up from the floor. Time had ever so slightly aged the room. The curtains were yellowed and slightly curled at the tips, but apart from the curtains and the dust, nothing much had changed since the last time I set foot in their room, ten years eight months, and twenty five days ago. The last time I set foot in the house was the day I left for university.

With my inheritance, I bought a small apartment near the middle of the city. My family was no where near rich, but we were comfortable. We were in the middle to lower class of economy. We moved around a lot when I was growing up, as my dad was a police officer who liked living in the country. But finally, when I was around the age of fifteen, he decided to move us to the big smoke. Dad didn't have to adjust to city life, he had lived there as a child, but he did have to adjust to being so close to his family. Dad loved his family just as much as the next person, be he didn't see the need to see them every second weekend. That was pretty much the main reason why we lived in the country for so long and moved so much. He figured that as long as we see the family at Christmas time, and maybe even a few birthdays, maybe, then we were in the clear. My dad could only take so much of his "eccentric" family.

His oldest brother, my uncle Wayne, was what most people would call a con man- and a very successful one at that. He was never caught though, and obviously we all kept it pretty quiet. No-one approved of his line of "work", but we never said anything about it. I figured his mum and dad tried, and failed to get him a proper job. Uncle Wayne was a loving and caring man, disregarding what he did for a living of course. The oldest girl, my auntie Donna, was a call centre manager; and a recovering alcoholic. She used to be a kindergarten teacher, but I guess you can't be sneaking alcohol into a school, and teaching a bunch of four year olds whilst hung over. Dad's other sister, my auntie Linda, was the youngest in the family, and my second mother. Aunt Linda was an ex state netball champion, and ten years younger than my dad- I figured she was an accident.

Aunt Linda and I got along like bread and butter. She was defiantly my favourite auntie, from my mum's side and from my dad's side. Whenever I got a bad grade on my school report (as impossible as that was) or my mum wouldn't let me go to a friend's party (much more likely), then Aunt Linda was always just a phone call away. When we moved to the big city, her and I went out four or five times a week, and caught up at least once a week.

Shaking my head again, trying to come back to the present, I quickly made my way out of the room; hyperventilating on my way out. I couldn't stand it much longer. I would go back in that room though, maybe not today, maybe not even next week; but I will go back in that room. Walking at a human's pace to the bathroom, I quickly tried the taps inside the strangely clean shower. "Huh" I thought, "after all these years it still works." Smiling happily, I got undressed and hopped in the shower. When you're a vampire, your human sense of temperature seems to all but disappear. Judging what would be "about right" for a human was much harder than I had first expected. But I managed, somehow.

Opening the foggy glass door of the shower, I quickly realized I didn't have a towel. "Shit" I exclaimed whilst trying to shake most of the water back into the shower. I had virtually no hair on my legs, luckily I shaved the morning that I was changed- I knew you couldn't cut a vampire's hair. No matter where it was. The reason I knew this was because one time a few months ago, I had experimented. I tried to cut just one stray strand of hair, thinking that vampire's hair could actually be cut. But it didn't budge. I found out that vampire's hair can't grow either. So I guess I was stuck with short brown hair just below my ears, with a fringe reaching the middle of my eyebrows for the rest of my life- no matter how long _that _might be.

Finally ready, I put on my clothes- black jeans and a plain green tee shirt. I left off my trench coat, figuring I didn't need it at the moment. "Thump thump, thump thump". I had been listening to the sounds of heartbeats all day, they all made my mouth water of course, but I was too busy to feed. It was only the paper boy too. He would probably be missed. When I fed on humans, I tended to go for the less popular ones. I always hoped to feed on someone without a family or a future. The druggies and the homeless were generally my main targets. I was a small vigilante of some sorts too; I tried to fish out the criminals and the would-be criminals.

I tended to hang out in the dodgiest areas of town, trying to sniff out (literally) drug dealers and just modern scum. Thanks to my incredible sense of smell and hearing, I was the unsung hero of many robberies and muggings. I always had my untraceable mobile phone on me, so whenever I saw or heard a crime taking place, I would call the police straight away. I always gave a fake name of course; Sarah Jordan, Lisa Scott, Joanne Carello- you name it I used it. I think the police were catching onto me though- I never bothered to disguise my voice. It would just come out sounding odd anyway. I would have to move town soon, people were defiantly starting to notice something was off about me.

That's when I smelt it, or for lack of better term- her. She smelled like mint, pomegranate and rain on a foggy day. I let a very large stream of light in as I opened one of the yellowed curtains. Her head snapped in my direction as she noticed me. She smiled softly as her eyes met mine. "Can I come in?" she mouthed. Jerking my head up and down quickly, the mysterious lady changed direction promptly and headed towards my house. I was so nervous- I had never met another one of my kind before. As she made her way across at a slow human pace, I took the time to study her carefully.

She was pale- even for one of my kind. The girl looked about twenty five or twenty six, and had dead straight black/purple hair that made it's was just past her shoulders in one simple plait. She had a rather thin nose and was quite tall and lanky. She was still beautiful of course. "Uh, hi" I smiled politely. I didn't know what to say, what was the regular protocol for two vampires meeting? For the first time in my life, I was at a loss for words. "Hi there, can I come through?" I let her in of course; I couldn't just leave her there on my doorstep looking hopeful. She would probably just knock down the door if I refused anyway.

She looked nice enough, but she also looked like the type of person who could kill you with one bat of an eyelash. "Thanks" She muttered. I detected a slight hint of a British accent, but I did not comment on the fact. "Nice place you got, have you been here for very long?" She asked, genuinely curious. "Um, it's kind of a long story" I trailed off, hoping she wouldn't ask. She didn't. "Oh ok then" She smiled. An awkward silence followed.

"My name's Susan Phillips by the way" She smiled again, this time sticking out her hand for me too shake. Susan Phillips was a very happy, cheery type of person. "My name is Dexy Monroe" I hated the feeling of rejection, as I knew what it felt like, so I shook her hand firmly. She smiled again; she seemed to do that quite a bit really. It was kind of annoying, but of course, I did not say anything. I was way too polite for that. "So you're fairly new to this, aren't you?" She asked. I didn't think it was that obvious, and what was classified as "new" anyway? "Um, yeah I guess so. I'm only three vampire years old. Is that bad?" I replied awkwardly, she was starting to make me feel self conscious.

I had just met this strange British lady and I didn't really want to reveal my entire life story to her. Since my family- I winced as I said that, died, I hadn't really been able to open up to anyone. My friends all deserted me; my remaining family couldn't do a thing, as they were consumed by their own grief. I shut everyone out, but I preferred it that way. Sure it was hard at the start, but I learned to cope with it. The only person I ever trusted and talked to, move a few months after the incident. He was my best friend, and my secret love. I pretty much never got over him, considering I've never loved anyone since. Losing Indie was hard, it just added to the sorrow. A giant heap of pain and misery, Indie leaving added another huge chuck to the heap. Some days I just curled up into a ball, trying to let the sadness crush me.

I contemplated suicide, more than once, but each time, the thought of Indie and my remaining family kept me alive. Sensing my distress, though not knowing why, the mysterious lady spoke once more. "Sorry to say, but I figured you were-you seem very inexperienced. No offense of course" She flashed a toothy grin as she said these words. Yeah sure, no offense taken at all. She noticed the taken aback look on my face, even though she was joking, her words still stung. Susan quickly backtracked then. "Oh I am so sorry, I really didn't mean it that way, honest." She smiled apologetically this time; she did a lot of smiling.

"Um, anyway, so what I really came here to tell you is that I **am **experienced. So if you have any question, feel free to ask me." Experienced? Questions? It was like my friends back at school, the slutty friends of course- telling me all about their sex life. I almost shuddered at the memory, but quickly caught myself before I embarrassed somebody. I mostly embarrassed myself though, so it was all good. I did have one question though. "How many of my kind are there?" I really wanted to know, I was genuinely curious. "Well, we're a new kind of vampire, so you may have noticed a few differences if you have met another vampire that wasn't one of us." I didn't want her to know how truly inexperienced I was, so I let her continue.

"Ok so, most things you have probably noticed. But some things, you may not have even noticed. Our eyes change colour depending on our mood, we are much more controlled than regular vampires- and it's easier for us to be around blood, human or animal. Nothing happens to us in sunlight, and we all have powers. Not all regular vampires have powers. Those of us, who, if we were a normal vampire, would have had abilities, have powers now that are far greater than any regular vampires' gift. The other vampires, those who wouldn't have had abilities, still have powers, but they aren't as strong as some other gifts. It's a lot to take in, I know, but are you following me here?" I pretty sure she didn't need to breathe, because that monologue was quite a mouthful.

I think I know what's going on, I understand it. Just. But I'm sure in time I will get it. "Anyway, I best be heading off, I really need to hunt" She looked at the sun, licked her lips and swallowed all in the same time she said this. I looked at the sun too- it was just above the horizon- struggling for survival. "I guess I'll you around then, Dexy Monroe." She went to grab the doorhandle then, but I remembered a question I still had. "What is your power then?" I asked, really wanting to know. She smiled, again. "I can sense when danger is near by, so trust me, you're pretty safe at the moment." With those words, and one last charming smile- she left.


	7. The Volturi

Chapter Seven

"Wow" I said out loud to no-one in particular, the information was a lot to take in. I had just found out everything I needed to know, all of my burning questions answered. A huge sigh escaped me as I collapsed onto the couch, leaving a giant dust storm in my wake. Considering I had nothing else to do, I decided to go out into the forest and feed. I thought over our previous conversation many times, each times analysing our words. I had a smile on my face and a spring in my step with this new found information. "Thump, thump. Thump, thump". Aah. The sound of a beating heart is the best sound in the world. It was a herd of camel too, my favourite.

I drained a few camels quickly and let the rest of the pack scatter. My happy feeling was over and now I was in no mood to chase wild animals. But I was so caught up in my depressed mood that I didn't notice a small group of vampires walk up from behind me until it was too late to run.

"Why hello there Miss Monroe" An eerily soft voice spoke quietly. I didn't know what was creepier, his voice or the fact that he knew my name. I whipped my head around so fast that I almost gave myself whiplash. I froze when I saw that there was more than one- there was five of them. The man who spoke, the leader I assumed, had thin, straight black hair and fragile looking skin. I thought briefly that if it came to a fight I could peel his skin back if all else failed. I pushed that violet thought aside before I started acting on it.

His eyes were by far the creepiest thing about it. They were red, but a pale red. Like blood that's been diluted by water. I moved onto the next vampire standing to the right of the leader. I could hardly call this figure a vampire though; she was but a mere child.

She looked about thirteen or fourteen, but could easily pass as twelve or even eleven if you stretched it slightly. The girl had wavy brown hair cut short; she would have been beautiful if she was a few years older. I felt a pang of sorrow for this poor child, being a teenager, and such a young one at that, forever would be horrible.

When I looked into her eyes, I noticed that they were a startling red- the kind of red I have when I'm shocked. I'm sure that my eyes reflected hers now. When she saw my eyes change from a deep blue colour to a bright red, she seemed startled, but somehow now surprised. She composed herself quickly though, and the man had to clear his throat to get my attention.

I turned to his direction as he spoke. "How are you dear Dexy?" Creeper asked. This was starting to get all too weird for my liking. "How do you know my name?" I questioned wearily. "Oh I think you'll find that we know a lot more about you than just your name" Ok, I was officially freaked. I started formulating a plan in my mind to run. I discreetly turned my head to the side to see which way was best to flee. I didn't know how fast they were at running so I decided to use my power by means of escape.

"Oh I don't think that's quite appropriate, Miss Monroe. We're just here to have a chat with you. You could at least listen to us, couldn't you?" I sighed in defeat, but nodded my head. I could take them out if I wanted to but I wasn't in the mood for fighting. Plus it took a lot out of me when I used my ability on such a large scale. I didn't even know if it would work on vampires, I predicted it would though.

"Oh how rude of me!" The leader gasped, exasperated. "I haven't even introduced us yet!" Here we go."Yes that would be helpful" I replied sarcastically, folding my arms across my chest in defence. "My name is Aro and this is Jane". He gestured to the small child on the right of him. She gave me a fierce look that said mess with me and I kill you.

After seeing that look I made sure I didn't.

"This is Demetri" He pointed to the rather attractive man on his left. Demetri had an olive tone to his pale complexion and had wavy hair reaching just above his shoulders. "That's Felix" The giant burly man stepped forward, smiling as he did so. Felix was easily the most built man I have ever seen in my life, but somehow he made it work. His short, black curly hair shifted slightly in the breeze.

"And I am Thanatos" A sinister looking man said stepping forward. The man had a very thick Greek accent and an eerie look about him that made me want to run for the hills. I was afraid to turn my back on him though, for fear he might snap my neck. This man was pure evil right down to the core; I could tell this the moment I looked into his merciless eyes. "And we are the Volturi", Aro said, finishing their introduction and cutting off Thanatos before he could say anything further.

"Pleasure to meet you" I said, half sincerely. They seemed like nice enough people and if it wasn't for the Greek man I would have been at ease in their presence. "You are alone I see" Thanatos said, I'd hate to see the ideas running through his mind as he thought of the possibilities. "Yeah, I guess I am" I said sadly, turns out I revealed too much when I said that. Aro's eyes lit up, like a great idea had just formed in his mind.

"Well I think that's about it really. All we wanted to do was introduce ourselves to you and now that it is done we shall leave you to hunt." I was surprised at his words and it seems like I wasn't the only one. Jane spun around to face him, bug-eyed in surprise. "Come now everyone; let's leave our dear friend Dexy in peace." Aro spoke, clapping his hands together. The others obeyed his words dutifully and in single file they all cleared out.

Thanatos lingered however. Nonetheless when Aro told him to leave he took one last murderous glare at me and left. "Goodbye Dexy. May we meet again someday" His goodbye was not a question, but more of a statement. As if he knew of and planned for our next meeting. "Catcha later" I said, my Australian way of speaking slipping through.

I watched them disappear as the sun slowly crawled above the horizon. As I turned away I noticed something sparkling like a diamond in the distance. But before I could investigate further, it was gone. "Curiouser and curiouser" I said, quoting one of my favourite books- I love reading.

I guess it was just my day for visitors.

I thought back on the odd company, what were they? Volturi sounded Italian, maybe they were from Volterra? I remembered holidaying there as a child. I also remembered the beautiful clock tower mesmerizing me with its air of mysteriousness. You could just feel the rich history seeping through the walls.

I also remembered a beautiful brunette lady inviting people in for a free underground tour of the city. I felt drawn to her, willing to follow this mysteriously lady anywhere. I started to trail behind her as she walked but shortly after that she stopped, turned around and smiled sweetly at me. "I think you need to go back to your family little one". She had a heavy Russian accent which made her even more entrancing. She turned me around and softly patted me in the general direction of my family.


	8. Indie Harrison

Chapter Eight

I decided to go into town for a walk and maybe nab a few criminals whilst I was there. I had only been walking for about fifteen minutes when I heard a gunshot. The piercing sound no longer made my ears ring, I had heard it before and I was prepared now. All I knew was that gunshot meant blood, and blood usually meant death.

I followed my excellent sense of smell to the body of a young man around the age of 24 or 25. He was still breathing, but only just. I sniffed the air and was hit with his extremely potent smell of blood, but I also smelt something very familiar. I smelt the same thing I smelt when I met with the Volturi, they must have been here.

His breaths were coming out in short spurts and I knew that he didn't have very long left. He would bleed to death within twenty minutes at most. I held my breath as I walked closer to the young man, he seemed very familiar but I didn't place him until I walked closer and got a look at his face.

"Indie"

I breathed at the realization of the only guy I have ever loved was bleeding on the cold, street floor. He tried to speak but only coughed up blood as he did so. I took a moment to inspect his wounds. There was a small bullet hole in the direct middle of his stomach. Blood was spurting out of the hole like a fountain; the bullet must have hit an artery or something.

Recognition flashed briefly in his eyes as they met mine. But they quickly rolled in the back of his head as he lay there motionless. I knew he was too far gone for a hospital to help so I got him out of the public eye. I scooped Indie up, careful of his stomach and ran as fast as my legs would take me back to my special spot in my forest. He groaned loudly as I set him down, I tried to be careful. I knew he only had minutes left so I had to think quickly and act fast.

I thought back to my change and decided that my plan of action was to bite him and hope for the best. I was inexperienced and unsure, but I had to believe for Indie's sake. I whispered kind, soothing words in his ear as my teeth lowered to the pulse point in his neck. His painful cry was cut off by the strangely surge of blood seeping from his contorted mouth.

I had a feeling that the Volturi were there, and did more to him than just shoot him. By the looks of things he had internal bleeding. "It's going to be okay" I whispered to him and myself. I rubbed his forehead soothingly for I knew that my cold skin would ease the burn. Not that the pain was too bad I guess, it hurts like hell for the first day but then the burn dies down slightly and the pain is then manageable.

For two days and two nights I sat with Indie, the only movement he made was a slight twitch every ten minutes or so. But apart from that, he was still. I talked to him every once in a while, just prattling on about random crap but it was keeping both him and I distracted. At approximately 12.55am on Tuesday the second of April, my best friend woke up as a vampire.

Indie sat up, dazed and confused. But as soon as he opened his eyes he all but leapt into the air and half crouched in front of me in defence. He started snarling at me so I decided that I'd better get up and start explaining some things before he tried to bite my head off- a very real scenario considering his strength. "It's me Indie!" I yelled at him, putting my hands up in front of me in a soothing manner. "It's Dexy" I added, more calmly this time.

Dexy Monroe and Indie Harrison, best friends forever, that's us. Maybe that's why we got on so well together, we both had strange names. A knowing look lit up his face and he smiled, Indie's smile could light up a thousand towns. "Dexy!" He exclaimed as he ran forward to embrace me. I met him halfway and we simply held each other for what seemed like hours.

"It's been years". He said, putting me at arms length to take a look at exactly how I'd changed. "Seven to be exact", I replied. A few months after my "incident", Indie and his family moved. I was gutted, he was the only person I could really open up to. "Ow" He exclaimed, bringing his hand to his throat. "You need to feed". I smiled. A confused yet intrigued expression befell him. "Come with me" I said grabbing his hand-which felt like heaven- and leading him deeper into the forest.

Hunting with someone for the first time is hilarious. I watched Indie as he awkwardly stumbled around, looking for something to feed on. I leaned against the tree and laughed. We had been in the same spot for about ten minutes now. Indie had no idea what to do but he refused to ask for help.

"You're a vampire, remember? It's natural, not to mention easy" He growled as I said the easy part. I was lying a bit, hunting didn't really come naturally. You had to think logically and it helps to have knowledge of vampires. "Just let your instincts take over". I laughed again, I knew I wasn't helping but it was just too fun.

I cocked my ear to the left when I heard the tell tale sound of a herd of kangaroos bounding our way. "Here's your chance" I said. "There's at least twenty kangas heading our way now." He nodded his head as he walked over to stand by my side and listen, he heard them too. I crouched down expertly and he followed my lead. When the kangaroos leapt past I half jumped, pretending that I was going to pounce on the animals. Indie saw me taking off and attacked the first Boomer he saw. I stood back and watched my friend take down beast after beast. I quickly drank from a kangaroo lingering at the back of the pack. By the time I had finished one animal, Indie had finished four at least. He must have been thirsty. We stood together and let the rest of the herd scatter. "Wow" He breathed. "Yeah" I added.

We stood in silence for a while before heading north to my tree. We both sat down together but before long we were lying side by side in the soft green grass. We chatted for hours, reminiscing about old times. I answered all of his questions the best I could but some of them even I had a hard time answering. "So you do that once a week?" He asked, referring to the feeding. "Yeah, I mean you could do it once every fortnight I guess. But I find that once a week is better. If I don't feed once a week at least then I feel kinda sickish I guess. I just feel really tired." That was the best way I could explain it.

"So is it just animals you feed on?" He asked timidly, as if afraid of the answer. "Um, well. No not really. I feed on humans too". The look on Indie's face was pure shock horror. It was expected really, Indie is a very compassionate person. "Only criminals, only the bad people." I thought that would justify my killings, but apparently not in Indie's eyes. "That's horrible! You can't take away people lives like that Dex! No matter who they are, regardless of what they've done or might do. They could have been reformed". Indie finished his monologue slightly breathless; he was such a bleeding heart. "That's bull and you know it. Once a criminal always a criminal, no one can be reformed; I saw evil in those people's eyes. And just because our country doesn't have the death penalty doesn't mean that those people deserve life". Ok now it was my turn to be breathless. "What happened to you Dex?" He questioned. "You never used to be this heartless".

"Life happened, Indie. The cruel actions of man happened". My harsh opinion of criminals came from what happened to me. Killings others gave me a small thrill, but I was in no way sadistic. Ok, well, maybe that was a lie but at least I only killed the guilty. I felt that justice was brought every time life drained out of their evil eyes. My families' killer was never found, so killing every piece of scum in this town was the closest thing I had to justice.

We lied in an awkward silence for a few minutes, so I decided to speak. "So what happened to you after you moved?" I asked. "Well we moved to this pretty cool town called Moora (**A/N Real town where I live)**, but it wasn't the same you know? I tried calling you, sending you letters and emails. But the phone always rang out and was eventually disconnected. The letters I sent were always returned to me. I even visited once but the house was abandoned." I could tell already that I didn't want to hear this story, but I let him continue.

"I finished school at Moora then went to Curtin (University) and studied law. I am, or at least I was, in my last year of my degree. I'm assuming that I can go back to my normal life now that I'm a-a-a vampire?" Indie stuttered over the V word, he would soon get used to it though. I took in his story slowly. I guess I was so caught up in my grief to notice the phone ringing or visit the Post Office every once and a while. When I left, I cut all ties with that town and what happened.

"Yeah sorry about that Indie, you're too different now." He sighed sadly. I knew he expected that, but he really wanted to be a lawyer. "It's okay though. As far as I know you have just about forever to get that degree." I smiled cheekily at him. "But first," I added. "We need to get you some new clothes."


	9. New Zealand

Chapter Nine

As I said that, I looked down to see what he was already wearing. His plain blue button up shirt was positively covered in dried blood and what was left was ripped almost beyond recognition. Through the rips in his shirt I saw his pale torso, and then I caught myself staring at him so I turned away. He didn't notice however, he was too busy being horrified. Not realizing his strength, Indie tor the shirt to pieces trying to inspect it. He ripped it completely off and threw the destroyed shirt to the ground. Indie was now shirtless.

My mind went blank.

I lusted over the smooth panes of his chest and the muscled perfection of his arms and stomach. Just as I was about ready to jump his bones, he spoke. "Sorry, but I couldn't wear that shirt anymore. Let's go shopping hey?" His words snapped me out of my lustful haze and gave me an idea. I walked behind my tree and clawed at the dirt. I dug until I found a bag which contained a group of film canisters. I kept a small pile of dust in the canisters; each pile of dust was a different article of clothing. I found the container labeled "Trench Coat" and brought it out. I packed away the canisters into the bag and re-buried it. It was more convenient than having a wardrobe in the middle of the forest. "Wanna see something really cool?" I asked him, my hand at the ready. "Okay?" He said hesitantly, he'd been watching me curiously and was now a little nervous.

All in one fluid motion I flipped off the lid poured the dust out and changed it into my favourite black trench coat before it even hit the ground. "Trying to catch flies there mate?" I asked Indie. His mouth was wider than a fat man's waistline. His jaw snapped shut and he snatched the garment out of my hands to examine it closely. "It's my ability or talent if you will. Check this out." I used my tree to show Indie my special skill. His eyes widened in shock whilst his eyebrows rose in surprise. "Can I do that?"He asked excitedly. "Sorry to disappoint, but most likely not. Apparently everyone's skill is different." "Oh" He was disappointed.

We both remembered the trench coat then, I knew it wouldn't fit him properly but I was better than nothing. He shrugged on the coat and let me tell you it was a damn shame to cover up his body like that. His arms just fit into the sleeves of the coat and the strings didn't ever reach to tie up. The jacket was tight on him to say the least, he looked quite odd. "Okay, let us be done with it". He said, trying in vain to make the clothing fit. "I'll race ya" I grinned, taking off in the direction of the shops. He was so slow that I reduced myself to a walk whilst waiting for him to catch up. When he finally caught up, he was flat out sprinting and I was doing a light jog. Either he was insanely slow or I was insanely fast, I settled for somewhere in the middle. We arrived at the edge of the forest in no time at all and slowed our selves to a slow walk- we didn't want to stick out too much.

"You're so slow" I teased.

"Shut up!" You've always been the fast one and you know it."

"Excuses, excuses dear Indie. Plus, it is not I who is fast. It is you who is slow." I smiled sweetly at him and he just shook his head and smiled back. We found the nearest "good store" and walked in. Indie only picked out a few shirts and pants, but I got the lot. For him, I grabbed three pairs of shoes, two pairs of jeans, five t-shirts and one pair of shorts. "How much money do you have?" Indie asked as he eyed the pile of clothes-I'd even added a few cute shirts I saw and a new pair of jeans for myself. "Enough" I smiled. As we were walking over, I picked the pockets of a few wealthy-looking men and hit the jackpot. Each guy had at least six hundred in his wallet. I purchased our clothes and we made our way back to what was now our forest.

"I think we should go traveling" Indie said one lazy Sunday afternoon.

"What brings this on?" I asked. He had been with me for only about three weeks now and was already becoming restless. "I wanna go places Dex, I wanna see the world. I mean, what's there to lose?" I chewed on the idea for a while. Of course I wanted to go traveling, but to be honest the idea of meeting those strange vampires again was terrifying. If I met them again and they hurt Indie I would never forgive myself. I suppressed the terror however and pretended to be excited. I was fairly excited though, so it wasn't that hard. "Ok then, where do you want to go?" I asked him, we had to start our journey somewhere. "Anywhere and everywhere."

"Are you sure about this Dex?" Indie asked me doubtfully. We were standing on the sea, gazing out at the rising moon. He wanted to travel and I wanted to explore the ocean. So we made a very fun compromise- my plan was to swim. "Yes of course I'm sure." I said, tightening the strap of waterproof bag filled to the brim with film canisters. "And besides," I added. "If you start drowning, then I'll be sure to save you." With these words, I dived into the water and started paddling. "Hey wait up!" Indie yelled out to me, but I was already underwater. He caught up to me quickly, quicker than I expected. Now Indie may be a turtle when it comes to running, but when it comes to swimming- he's a shark in the water. I was never a fast swimmer, more into the first aid side of things.

Being able to hold your breath indefinitely is a very interesting experience.

It was like when you stayed up until 3am and you knew that you should be tired, and you be sleeping- but your not. It was an odd feeling, I knew I should be breathing, but I just didn't feel the need. Indie had a terrified look on his face as I swam deeper into the black abyss, but he followed me down still. My family and I always went snorkelling or scuba diving, but this was an entirely different experience. My improved eyes made the plant and animal life amazing. Unfortunately though, whenever Indie or I got close to an animal, it swam away. I guess their instincts kicked in, fight or flight and all that.

After hours of swimming in practically a straight line, we both surfaced and Indie pulled out a waterproof GPS. "Whoa" He exclaimed whilst showing me the screen. "We're way off track. If we keep going this way we'll end up in the South Pole!" Far our, better slow down on the swimming! I didn't realize we were going that fast. "Penguins. Lovely".

We kept above the water this time, obviously diving under if we heard a boat coming. We changed our direction and headed North-West. Our destination was New Zealand. As a child, I went to New Zealand with my family. As you have probably noticed, my family holidayed a lot- maybe that's where all our money went. Indie and his family went there too, around the same time as we did. I was seven at the time and he was eight. We sat across from one another in the plane. We exchanged shy waves and smiles and said goodbye when the flight landed. On the third day of our trip, we went skiing. Or at least my family did. I refused to even touch a ski-set. I sat there in the snow, sulking, when the boy from the plane came over and sat next to me.

"Hi there" He said chirpily. His happiness annoyed me. "Hello" I mumbled back. "My name's Indie" He ignored my sulky mood and thrust out his hand for me to shake. I was surprised at his unique name, kinda like mine I guess. "My name is Dexy" I shook his hand, his happiness starting wear off on me. "Hey cool name" He said, stealing my next sentence. "Thanks" I replied. "I like yours too". He smiled again, but this time I smiled back. I could tell we were going to be great friends. "Not skiing today?" He asked after a few minutes of silence. "Don't want to" I replied curtly. "But it's really fun! Come on, you have to try it!" He said this as he dragged me to my feet. He ran inside and collected me a set of skis- they were pink!

"Come over here to the best spot" Indie grabbed my hand and dragged me over to "the best spot". "Okay, now sit down and strap on your skis." I sat down and did the best I could to put on the strange contraption, but I really had no idea what I was doing. Once I'd finished, I stood up shakily, but fell back quickly, straight on my butt. 'You've got your skis on the wrong feet!" Indie laughed. He bent down and did them up properly for me, all the while gasping for air. I turned red quickly and huffed in annoyance. Indie helped me up this time and I didn't fall on my butt! I was so happy. We spent the rest of the day laughing and falling over. I didn't see Indie again on the New Zealand trip.

I felt something tug on my leg, effectively snapping me out of my trance. Indie made the hand signal to surface, so we did. We quickly rechecked our map and began to swim again. We did survival backstroke this time, so we could talk. Even though our ears were full of water, I knew we would be able to hear each other perfectly. I looked across at him whilst we swam in silence for a small period of time. We were both wearing bathers because I thought it'd be easier than swimming in clothes. But by the looks of things, it wouldn't have mattered- swimming was almost as easy as running. Indie was wearing a pair of black and white board shorts and nothing else. Bar the waterproof backpack and the GPS. I was wearing a pair of purple and silver board shorts with a bikini top. It was the first time in my life that I was actually confident enough to wear a bikini. We swam in a comfortable silence and for the time in seven years, I was truly happy.

"Hey Dex," Indie said, breaking the silent bliss. "Yeah Ind?" I replied. "I'm sorry for what I said the other day; I didn't mean to call you heartless, honest". His apology surprised me; I thought he would have forgotten it by now. I wasn't even that offended, I've been called worse before trust me. "Its fine- really". We went slipped back into the silence, except this time- it was awkward. We kept our conversation light for the next few hours. Every now and again we stopped to check the GPS, just to make sure we weren't heading for the South Pole again. "We're almost there!" Indie grinned like the Cheshire Cat when he was excited. "Perfect timing too, the sun's just about up and it's getting light". We had to get out of the water before day break as it would look a bit odd if two random people appeared calming walking out of the sea.

"New Zealand is just as beautiful as I remember!" I exclaimed when we had discreetly exited the water. It is common knowledge that New Zealand is a very cold place, so we quickly got changed as we didn't want to stick out. Woolly jumpers and ugg boots seem to be the go, so we went with it.


End file.
